esp_dragon (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
esp_dragon) wrote2011-11-04 09:33 pm
esp_dragon) wrote2011-11-04 09:33 pm
Chosen [Part 4]
Fandom: Original
Summary: Ras has just been chosen by the Gods to protect humans from geists, beings that prey on people's souls. Sent by Them to aid her is Aldran, a psyven; through the bond forged on their first meeting, Aldran can pass his magic to Ras for her to use against the geists. Only those bonded with psyvens can fight the geists, as a psyven's magic is the one magic that is truly effective against them.
But stories are told to children to placate fears and soothe nightmares. Ras has to learn that Aldran and living as a khertan are not what she expected and that the danger is very real.
While she adjusts to her new life, she and Aldran begin to discover all is not as it seems; however, realising and accepting the truth is not easy and ultimately, in the end, is it worth it?
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Should I rate these parts individually, or keep it to the overall maximum it is?
You can find them on my personal journal. :)
Genre: Fantasy
Word count: 2,788
Total word count: 11,462
Status: Work in progress
"Apart from that, there isn't that much you can find at where the geist fed," Ceilha said, her lips pursed. "Though, here." She pointed at the ground; Ras peered at it and could see a few droplets of differently shining blue liquid. "That's a geist's blood. It's sometimes good to make sure that there are hints that it was a geist, in case it isn't clear if a geist is the culprit or not."
Ras almost didn't want to ask. "When is it not clear?"
"While a geist can feed on a person's soul without making a wound, they can also snap a neck twig - it can be hard to tell if the person died for other reasons, or if a geist fed from them and then killed them." Ceilha pursed her lips. "If they kill their prey, it can take longer before they're discovered."
...There was just far too much to know, Ras thought, despair clawing at her insides. If she made one wrong step, if she did the wrong thing, the consequences of it could mean more people being hurt!
"But for us, the best sign that there's a geist in the area is the buzzing feeling you're experiencing right now," Dracer added.
Even though, it still meant there was a lot for her and Aldran to remember. Ras sighed, nodding, trying to engrave the feeling into her mind. She could definitely tell there was a difference - she just hoped she'd recall what it meant when it mattered.
Ceilha straightened up from her crouch, flicking the dirt from her knees. "Now is the tedious part: trying to find the geist," she said, her lip curling in annoyance. "There isn't much we can do, apart from wander around the village, waiting for when we can feel them."
Ras frowned again, realising how much ground had to be covered. "But in a town or a city..."
"The geists unfortunately have probably been feeding undisturbed for a while if they're in a larger area," Ceilha said as she rummaged through her pockets. "They're less cautious about hiding – you can usually see somewhere where they could have gone –a hole in a wall, an open door, anything that can fit an adult person- from where they'd fed on."
Ceilha eventually pulled out a pouch filled with coins, and spilled half of them into another pouch. When she was done, she handed one of them to Ras. Ras raised her hands to ward them off, but Ceilha pushed it into her hands, not letting go until Ras finally aquesied.
"We're given a little money every time we travel, for whatever we need," Ceilha said as she repocketed her pouch. "You might not always need it -chances are, you might get things for free when you ask for it- but it's good to have, just in case."
As Ras put the pouch into her pocket, she mused, "It sounds like we're parting ways."
Ceilha chuckled. "Yes, but only temporarily."
Ras snapped her head up to stare incredulously at her. Where were they going?
"Don't worry," Ceilha said, watching her carefully. "We have some time - the geist is going to be resting at the moment after feeding, so we don't have to worry about anyone else being attacked."
"You two, on the other hand, should get to know each other better in the meantime," Dracer said, looking between Ras and Aldran. "If you don't know how the other person thinks or reacts, then you could very much end up dead because at a crucial moment, you didn't know how the other was going to react."
Ras glanced at Aldran, worry written all over his face, his tail almost curled between his legs. Yeah, she could understand that. "But what happens if we find the geist?"
"You use these." Ceilha lifted her own necklace away from her neck for a few seconds before dropping it. "Since we've met face-to-face, you just have to think of wanting to talk to me while holding it for our necklaces to connect. We can hold a conversation like that."
Ras held up her own necklace, staring blankly at it. "We can talk to each other without being near each other?" she asked incredulously. It didn't sound like letter-writing and while she'd heard of a mage's magic being able to let two people communicate from one side of the country to another (how else did the villages let the mages know that there was a geist in their vicinity? It would have taken too long by carrier pigeon.) that happened due to the extremely large magic circle on both sides - the necklace - had lines woven into every fold, shimmering in the light.
"Are the teleportation circles there merely for show, then?" Ras asked, tucking the necklace away. If such magic could be squeezed onto such a tiny item, then surely the teleportation circle didn't have to be so grandiose.
"No," Ceilha said, shaking her head. "Teleportation takes a lot of focus, magic and concentration - the circles are needed. Also," she added, her face going thoughtful, "remaking the circle would take up a lot of time - every village, town and city would need to be changed, and every circle had to be done exactly, to make sure there aren't any...accidents," she said delicately. Ras didn't want to think about what she meant by that.
"Anyway," Ceilha said, shaking her head, "get to know each other - if you find the geist, get away until you no longer feel it and call us. If not, well, get to know each other," she said, wryly.
Both Ras and Aldran nodded.
"Is there anything else you want to know?"
One part of Ras' brain babbled 'Everything, in case, in case, in case!' but she shook her head. "If I think of something, I'll call."
"Good." Ceilha and Dracer shared a look. "Now, if we can find our accommodations..." They started talking with each other, easily and comfortably, as they walked away.
Ras sighed, rubbing the back of her head, stealing a glance at Aldran. "How do you feel about all this?"
"I..." Unsurprisingly, Aldran starting looking away. "It's a lot of take in, and if we were to do something wrong..."
"Yeah." Ras patted herself down, making sure the money pouch was secure, as were the bindings on her dagger, and then asked, "Is there anywhere you want to go?"
Aldran stared at her, wide-eyed. "Is there anywhere I want to go?" His voice practically squeaked. So, it looked like they did have a few things in common, Ras thought wryly.
"Yeah," Ras said, nodded. "I don't - I-" She blew air from her mouth as she searched for the right words. "I don't like it when you're practically cowering from me," -as much as one could when the person they were cowering from was a full head shorter than then- "I want... I would like us to be like equals?" She couldn't help her voice tilting up at the end, making it sound like she was asking a question, rather than making a firm statement.
"You would?" Aldran said uncertainly, watching her face carefully. "But..." He pursed his lips and looked away.
"But what?" Ras watched Aldran's face just as carefully, hoping she might be able to understand him better.
Aldran opened his mouth a few times, sounding like he was about to speak, before shutting it again with a snap. He took a deep breath, before looking at her from her corner of his eyes, his expression sad. "You're the one fighting, you're the one who's most in danger-"
"And you're the one who's giving me the ability to fight!" Ras interrupted him, shaking her head. "I suppose," she said slowly, trying to figure her way around Aldran's thinking, "it's because I'm a woman?" He didn't seem to have a problem with Ceilha and Dracer fighting though, but maybe it was because-
"Why would that make a difference?" Aldran said, flabbergasted. "I don't-" Aldran sighed harshly, turning away, his shoulders hunched. "I don't like how I have to stand there and watch you be hurt in front of me. If I try to help, the magic's lost between us, and then – and then the reason why you're hurt is because of me."
Oh. Oh. It wasn't that Aldran thought that he should be walking behind Ras, but because he was feeling guilty. "Well," Ras said, attempting to choose her words carefully, "I'm not hurt now; the healers saw to that."
"I know!" Aldran burst out, hopelessness in his voice. "But, you could have died then and the healers can't fix that."
Ras winced. She couldn't deny that fact, but she couldn't let it fester in Aldran's mind either. "So… You have to trust me, all right?" She wanted to step closer to him, maybe playfully give him a nudge, any kind of physical comfort at that moment – he looked so lost, but she wasn't sure if it was wanted, if Aldran would just back away from her if she tried. "If I get hurt, then you have to trust that I'm all right, that I'll get up again."
"But what if you don't?" he whispered, bowing his head. "What if you don't get back up?" She could almost hear his unanswered question of 'What if you become like Ula?'
"Yell at me?" She grimaced at the words that fell out of her mouth. "I have a habit of making dry remarks when I don't know what to say," she said as a way of explanation.
Aldran huffed softly. "I don't think I'd be able to shout that loudly…" he said, a small, hesitant smile on his face.
And it looked like their humour also ran along the same course as well. "Then you'll just have to practice!" Ras said, hoping she sounded more confident than she was currently feeling, grinning back at him.
"Hm," Aldran hummed, his smile growing slightly. "I guess I could try, but…not right now."
"No," she said dryly, relieved that Aldran seemed to be relaxing a little around her, "I don't think the people here would appreciate it." Not that they could do it when they went back either, but maybe there were empty areas they could try it in, if Aldran was being serious about practicing. She rubbed her arm again, the goosebumps not lessening in the slightest.
Aldran's eyes flicked down to where her hand was, it was then that Ras noticed that Aldran' similarly had raised goosebumps running along his arms. "Let's just decide where we want to go as soon as we're away from here?" she suggested.
Aldran blinked at her, and the smiled, nodding. "Okay."
Together, they left the pathway, keeping an eye out for the geist, just in case.
* * *
They found themselves wandering more around the residential area, if only for the reason that when they went to the market place, as soon as they were seen, people scurried away, their heads bent, and neither Ras or Aldran wanted to constantly see that. They also chose to go back there rather than to another part of the village as that had been where the geist's presence had last been known.
By unspoken agreement, they made sure they didn't pass Tarn and Mizara's house.
"It doesn't really seem possible," Ras said quietly as they walked, keeping Aldran in the corner of her eye as she scanned the area around them, "being able to find the geist like this." The village wasn't large by any means, but that was only in terms of people – there was still a lot of ground to cover, a lot of places that the geist could have went in the time between it fed and them arriving.
"But…it's been happening for years, hasn't it?" Aldran asked, hesitantly. "If the geists weren't stopped, then there would be more of them."
"Yeah…" Ras sighed as she tried to make her thoughts into something more coherent. "And, if we couldn't find them, then…" She grimaced, still not quite wanting to touch the thought properly. "Then khertan wouldn't die so early." What happened to the psyven when that happened? Did they go back to the Gods' side?
Aldran stopped walking, and Ras turned to peer at him curiously. Another thought popped into her mind unbidden while Aldran looked like he was trying to find the words to say: could psyvens die? They were immortal – but Ras was assuming that, and nearly everything she thought she knew about khertan was turning out to false, or not quite what she thought it would be, so maybe this was the same?
"It…It doesn't matter," he eventually said, shaking his head, his tail not moving.
Ras raised her eyebrows at him. "I don't believe you," she told him flatly.
"No, it's - really..." He sighed, looking away. "I just...don't like the idea of you dying."
That... There wasn't really much Ras could say to that. Crossing her arms, she waited for him to look back at her. When he eventually did, she said, "I can't promise you that I won't die," -that would be far too big a lie for her to tell him, and it would hurt him far too much when she eventually did die- "but I can promise you that I'll try my best to stay alive as long as I can. Is that all right?" It felt strange wording a deal like that, but it was the best her mind could come up with at that particular moment.
"I..." He closed his eyes briefly, before nodding resolutely. "Then I promise that I'll try my best to help you keep that promise."
She snorted a small laugh, smiling. "You would tie them together like that?"
"Yes, I would."
And he sounded so serious that Ras didn't want to argue about him. On the other hand, there was something else she could comment on. "Hm, but if my promise was to ease your mind, then shouldn't yours do the same?" she teased. "For example, not making yourself as unobtrusive as possible?"
Aldran frowned, his tail flicking from side to side as he thought. "Can I have two promises, then?" he eventually asked.
Ras couldn't help but break into laughter at his request. She quickly stopped, hoping he didn't think she was laughing at him – which she was, but not out of malice. He was a little wide-eyed, his tail not moving, but he didn't seem hurt by her action. Good.
"You can make as many as you want!" she told him, the laughter still bubbling in her throat. "You don't have to…" She trailed off, waving a hand as she searched for the right words. "It doesn't have to be so formal," she eventually said. "I only said it like that because…that was how I wanted to phrase it at the time." She shook her head, her smile softening. "And I didn't mean that you absolutely had to do that either."
"Oh." His face became a mask of concentration as his eyebrows drew in and he frowned. "No, I…I still wish to do it."
"Huh, all right. Is there anything else you'd like me to do?" she asked him curiously.
He went wide-eyed again, before shaking his head vigorously. "That was the only thing that was bothering me – I can't stop you from… But if you could…" He stopped himself from continuing.
"I'll try my best," she said, nodding.
"Thank you."
* * *
They didn't find any more clues about where the geist had been, and they hadn't felt its presence either.
"Do you think we should buy something to eat, or if we should find the inn?" Ras mused out loud. She didn't want to see anyone's reaction to them at that particular moment, but it was going to happen either way. Huh. Barely even a day had passed since she'd became a khertan and she felt weary of people's reactions to them.
"I think-"
The rest of Aldran's answer was stopped short as Ras' necklace sparked, giving off a hum of magic. Unsure what to do, Ras grasped it.
"Good, you know how to answer."
The voice that seemed to echo from the necklace was easily recognisable. "Ceilha?" Ras blinked down at her necklace. It did sound like Ceilha was standing right next to them.
"Can you two make your way back to the church as soon as possible? Something's happened."
"Uh, of course we can," Ras said, glancing at Aldran, who nodded. When the hum faded, Ras let go of the necklace. They instantly turned around and started to head in the direction of the church.
* * *
Summary: Ras has just been chosen by the Gods to protect humans from geists, beings that prey on people's souls. Sent by Them to aid her is Aldran, a psyven; through the bond forged on their first meeting, Aldran can pass his magic to Ras for her to use against the geists. Only those bonded with psyvens can fight the geists, as a psyven's magic is the one magic that is truly effective against them.
But stories are told to children to placate fears and soothe nightmares. Ras has to learn that Aldran and living as a khertan are not what she expected and that the danger is very real.
While she adjusts to her new life, she and Aldran begin to discover all is not as it seems; however, realising and accepting the truth is not easy and ultimately, in the end, is it worth it?
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Should I rate these parts individually, or keep it to the overall maximum it is?
You can find them on my personal journal. :)
Genre: Fantasy
Word count: 2,788
Total word count: 11,462
Status: Work in progress
"Apart from that, there isn't that much you can find at where the geist fed," Ceilha said, her lips pursed. "Though, here." She pointed at the ground; Ras peered at it and could see a few droplets of differently shining blue liquid. "That's a geist's blood. It's sometimes good to make sure that there are hints that it was a geist, in case it isn't clear if a geist is the culprit or not."
Ras almost didn't want to ask. "When is it not clear?"
"While a geist can feed on a person's soul without making a wound, they can also snap a neck twig - it can be hard to tell if the person died for other reasons, or if a geist fed from them and then killed them." Ceilha pursed her lips. "If they kill their prey, it can take longer before they're discovered."
...There was just far too much to know, Ras thought, despair clawing at her insides. If she made one wrong step, if she did the wrong thing, the consequences of it could mean more people being hurt!
"But for us, the best sign that there's a geist in the area is the buzzing feeling you're experiencing right now," Dracer added.
Even though, it still meant there was a lot for her and Aldran to remember. Ras sighed, nodding, trying to engrave the feeling into her mind. She could definitely tell there was a difference - she just hoped she'd recall what it meant when it mattered.
Ceilha straightened up from her crouch, flicking the dirt from her knees. "Now is the tedious part: trying to find the geist," she said, her lip curling in annoyance. "There isn't much we can do, apart from wander around the village, waiting for when we can feel them."
Ras frowned again, realising how much ground had to be covered. "But in a town or a city..."
"The geists unfortunately have probably been feeding undisturbed for a while if they're in a larger area," Ceilha said as she rummaged through her pockets. "They're less cautious about hiding – you can usually see somewhere where they could have gone –a hole in a wall, an open door, anything that can fit an adult person- from where they'd fed on."
Ceilha eventually pulled out a pouch filled with coins, and spilled half of them into another pouch. When she was done, she handed one of them to Ras. Ras raised her hands to ward them off, but Ceilha pushed it into her hands, not letting go until Ras finally aquesied.
"We're given a little money every time we travel, for whatever we need," Ceilha said as she repocketed her pouch. "You might not always need it -chances are, you might get things for free when you ask for it- but it's good to have, just in case."
As Ras put the pouch into her pocket, she mused, "It sounds like we're parting ways."
Ceilha chuckled. "Yes, but only temporarily."
Ras snapped her head up to stare incredulously at her. Where were they going?
"Don't worry," Ceilha said, watching her carefully. "We have some time - the geist is going to be resting at the moment after feeding, so we don't have to worry about anyone else being attacked."
"You two, on the other hand, should get to know each other better in the meantime," Dracer said, looking between Ras and Aldran. "If you don't know how the other person thinks or reacts, then you could very much end up dead because at a crucial moment, you didn't know how the other was going to react."
Ras glanced at Aldran, worry written all over his face, his tail almost curled between his legs. Yeah, she could understand that. "But what happens if we find the geist?"
"You use these." Ceilha lifted her own necklace away from her neck for a few seconds before dropping it. "Since we've met face-to-face, you just have to think of wanting to talk to me while holding it for our necklaces to connect. We can hold a conversation like that."
Ras held up her own necklace, staring blankly at it. "We can talk to each other without being near each other?" she asked incredulously. It didn't sound like letter-writing and while she'd heard of a mage's magic being able to let two people communicate from one side of the country to another (how else did the villages let the mages know that there was a geist in their vicinity? It would have taken too long by carrier pigeon.) that happened due to the extremely large magic circle on both sides - the necklace - had lines woven into every fold, shimmering in the light.
"Are the teleportation circles there merely for show, then?" Ras asked, tucking the necklace away. If such magic could be squeezed onto such a tiny item, then surely the teleportation circle didn't have to be so grandiose.
"No," Ceilha said, shaking her head. "Teleportation takes a lot of focus, magic and concentration - the circles are needed. Also," she added, her face going thoughtful, "remaking the circle would take up a lot of time - every village, town and city would need to be changed, and every circle had to be done exactly, to make sure there aren't any...accidents," she said delicately. Ras didn't want to think about what she meant by that.
"Anyway," Ceilha said, shaking her head, "get to know each other - if you find the geist, get away until you no longer feel it and call us. If not, well, get to know each other," she said, wryly.
Both Ras and Aldran nodded.
"Is there anything else you want to know?"
One part of Ras' brain babbled 'Everything, in case, in case, in case!' but she shook her head. "If I think of something, I'll call."
"Good." Ceilha and Dracer shared a look. "Now, if we can find our accommodations..." They started talking with each other, easily and comfortably, as they walked away.
Ras sighed, rubbing the back of her head, stealing a glance at Aldran. "How do you feel about all this?"
"I..." Unsurprisingly, Aldran starting looking away. "It's a lot of take in, and if we were to do something wrong..."
"Yeah." Ras patted herself down, making sure the money pouch was secure, as were the bindings on her dagger, and then asked, "Is there anywhere you want to go?"
Aldran stared at her, wide-eyed. "Is there anywhere I want to go?" His voice practically squeaked. So, it looked like they did have a few things in common, Ras thought wryly.
"Yeah," Ras said, nodded. "I don't - I-" She blew air from her mouth as she searched for the right words. "I don't like it when you're practically cowering from me," -as much as one could when the person they were cowering from was a full head shorter than then- "I want... I would like us to be like equals?" She couldn't help her voice tilting up at the end, making it sound like she was asking a question, rather than making a firm statement.
"You would?" Aldran said uncertainly, watching her face carefully. "But..." He pursed his lips and looked away.
"But what?" Ras watched Aldran's face just as carefully, hoping she might be able to understand him better.
Aldran opened his mouth a few times, sounding like he was about to speak, before shutting it again with a snap. He took a deep breath, before looking at her from her corner of his eyes, his expression sad. "You're the one fighting, you're the one who's most in danger-"
"And you're the one who's giving me the ability to fight!" Ras interrupted him, shaking her head. "I suppose," she said slowly, trying to figure her way around Aldran's thinking, "it's because I'm a woman?" He didn't seem to have a problem with Ceilha and Dracer fighting though, but maybe it was because-
"Why would that make a difference?" Aldran said, flabbergasted. "I don't-" Aldran sighed harshly, turning away, his shoulders hunched. "I don't like how I have to stand there and watch you be hurt in front of me. If I try to help, the magic's lost between us, and then – and then the reason why you're hurt is because of me."
Oh. Oh. It wasn't that Aldran thought that he should be walking behind Ras, but because he was feeling guilty. "Well," Ras said, attempting to choose her words carefully, "I'm not hurt now; the healers saw to that."
"I know!" Aldran burst out, hopelessness in his voice. "But, you could have died then and the healers can't fix that."
Ras winced. She couldn't deny that fact, but she couldn't let it fester in Aldran's mind either. "So… You have to trust me, all right?" She wanted to step closer to him, maybe playfully give him a nudge, any kind of physical comfort at that moment – he looked so lost, but she wasn't sure if it was wanted, if Aldran would just back away from her if she tried. "If I get hurt, then you have to trust that I'm all right, that I'll get up again."
"But what if you don't?" he whispered, bowing his head. "What if you don't get back up?" She could almost hear his unanswered question of 'What if you become like Ula?'
"Yell at me?" She grimaced at the words that fell out of her mouth. "I have a habit of making dry remarks when I don't know what to say," she said as a way of explanation.
Aldran huffed softly. "I don't think I'd be able to shout that loudly…" he said, a small, hesitant smile on his face.
And it looked like their humour also ran along the same course as well. "Then you'll just have to practice!" Ras said, hoping she sounded more confident than she was currently feeling, grinning back at him.
"Hm," Aldran hummed, his smile growing slightly. "I guess I could try, but…not right now."
"No," she said dryly, relieved that Aldran seemed to be relaxing a little around her, "I don't think the people here would appreciate it." Not that they could do it when they went back either, but maybe there were empty areas they could try it in, if Aldran was being serious about practicing. She rubbed her arm again, the goosebumps not lessening in the slightest.
Aldran's eyes flicked down to where her hand was, it was then that Ras noticed that Aldran' similarly had raised goosebumps running along his arms. "Let's just decide where we want to go as soon as we're away from here?" she suggested.
Aldran blinked at her, and the smiled, nodding. "Okay."
Together, they left the pathway, keeping an eye out for the geist, just in case.
They found themselves wandering more around the residential area, if only for the reason that when they went to the market place, as soon as they were seen, people scurried away, their heads bent, and neither Ras or Aldran wanted to constantly see that. They also chose to go back there rather than to another part of the village as that had been where the geist's presence had last been known.
By unspoken agreement, they made sure they didn't pass Tarn and Mizara's house.
"It doesn't really seem possible," Ras said quietly as they walked, keeping Aldran in the corner of her eye as she scanned the area around them, "being able to find the geist like this." The village wasn't large by any means, but that was only in terms of people – there was still a lot of ground to cover, a lot of places that the geist could have went in the time between it fed and them arriving.
"But…it's been happening for years, hasn't it?" Aldran asked, hesitantly. "If the geists weren't stopped, then there would be more of them."
"Yeah…" Ras sighed as she tried to make her thoughts into something more coherent. "And, if we couldn't find them, then…" She grimaced, still not quite wanting to touch the thought properly. "Then khertan wouldn't die so early." What happened to the psyven when that happened? Did they go back to the Gods' side?
Aldran stopped walking, and Ras turned to peer at him curiously. Another thought popped into her mind unbidden while Aldran looked like he was trying to find the words to say: could psyvens die? They were immortal – but Ras was assuming that, and nearly everything she thought she knew about khertan was turning out to false, or not quite what she thought it would be, so maybe this was the same?
"It…It doesn't matter," he eventually said, shaking his head, his tail not moving.
Ras raised her eyebrows at him. "I don't believe you," she told him flatly.
"No, it's - really..." He sighed, looking away. "I just...don't like the idea of you dying."
That... There wasn't really much Ras could say to that. Crossing her arms, she waited for him to look back at her. When he eventually did, she said, "I can't promise you that I won't die," -that would be far too big a lie for her to tell him, and it would hurt him far too much when she eventually did die- "but I can promise you that I'll try my best to stay alive as long as I can. Is that all right?" It felt strange wording a deal like that, but it was the best her mind could come up with at that particular moment.
"I..." He closed his eyes briefly, before nodding resolutely. "Then I promise that I'll try my best to help you keep that promise."
She snorted a small laugh, smiling. "You would tie them together like that?"
"Yes, I would."
And he sounded so serious that Ras didn't want to argue about him. On the other hand, there was something else she could comment on. "Hm, but if my promise was to ease your mind, then shouldn't yours do the same?" she teased. "For example, not making yourself as unobtrusive as possible?"
Aldran frowned, his tail flicking from side to side as he thought. "Can I have two promises, then?" he eventually asked.
Ras couldn't help but break into laughter at his request. She quickly stopped, hoping he didn't think she was laughing at him – which she was, but not out of malice. He was a little wide-eyed, his tail not moving, but he didn't seem hurt by her action. Good.
"You can make as many as you want!" she told him, the laughter still bubbling in her throat. "You don't have to…" She trailed off, waving a hand as she searched for the right words. "It doesn't have to be so formal," she eventually said. "I only said it like that because…that was how I wanted to phrase it at the time." She shook her head, her smile softening. "And I didn't mean that you absolutely had to do that either."
"Oh." His face became a mask of concentration as his eyebrows drew in and he frowned. "No, I…I still wish to do it."
"Huh, all right. Is there anything else you'd like me to do?" she asked him curiously.
He went wide-eyed again, before shaking his head vigorously. "That was the only thing that was bothering me – I can't stop you from… But if you could…" He stopped himself from continuing.
"I'll try my best," she said, nodding.
"Thank you."
They didn't find any more clues about where the geist had been, and they hadn't felt its presence either.
"Do you think we should buy something to eat, or if we should find the inn?" Ras mused out loud. She didn't want to see anyone's reaction to them at that particular moment, but it was going to happen either way. Huh. Barely even a day had passed since she'd became a khertan and she felt weary of people's reactions to them.
"I think-"
The rest of Aldran's answer was stopped short as Ras' necklace sparked, giving off a hum of magic. Unsure what to do, Ras grasped it.
"Good, you know how to answer."
The voice that seemed to echo from the necklace was easily recognisable. "Ceilha?" Ras blinked down at her necklace. It did sound like Ceilha was standing right next to them.
"Can you two make your way back to the church as soon as possible? Something's happened."
"Uh, of course we can," Ras said, glancing at Aldran, who nodded. When the hum faded, Ras let go of the necklace. They instantly turned around and started to head in the direction of the church.